The Beloved (pbuh) and being prepared

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
والحمدلله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful the Most Compassionate
All praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the most noble of the Prophets and Messengers

We’ve all been in situations, that when we really want something, there is an element missing which prevents us from getting that which we want.

For example, imagine there is an excellent course you want to apply for, but you know that your parents won’t allow you to go. You could decide not to apply at all, since you already know the answer, or you could go ahead and apply anyway, and make sure you have all the provisions ready… just in case. Or you know you have a lot of time to prepare for an application; you could leave it until the last minute, or do it as soon as possible.

The latter was the way of our Prophet (pbuh). Even when things seemed impossible or very far off, he was always prepared. Why? Because when things are completely out of our hands, and there is very little we can do to attain them, we need to remember that opportunities come from Allah, and when we are sincere in our striving, He makes an opening. Also that we do not know what the future could bring, and the more we procrastinate, the more we allow for other things to take over our time.

The Prophet (pbuh) was always prepared, whether it was for something worldly or for the after-life. When he saw people too engrossed in folly, he would remind them to remember death. When he saw that the companions were so worried about the after-life, he would ease their worries by reminding them that they were human. In every aspect of his life, whether it was through his prayers, his du’a, what he taught people, even the special du’a that he saved for his Ummah on the Day of Judgment, was preparation for the afterlife. Even when the Muslims were marching to the Battle of Badr, and every three people had to share a camel, the Prophet (pbuh) was with Ali (ra) and another companion, and they wanted to walk and let the Prophet (pbuh) ride the camel; but the Prophet (pbuh) refused and wanted to walk, in order to gain the reward. Even in this case, the Prophet (pbuh) was preparing for the akhira.

As for this life, we can see this in the many battles that were waged. The Prophet (pbuh) had appointed Talha bin Obayd Allah and Saeed bin Zayd (ra- both of whom were promised Paradise) as a sort of ‘intelligence service’, where they would always be on the alert in the desert to hear news about any tribe that wanted to attack them or had any ill-intent. He did not wait for revelation from Allah to tell him; he prepared in order ot teach us. It was because of this that the Prophet (pbuh) and the Muslims were prepared in Gazwat Al-Khandaq (The Battle of the Trench), as they received news that the tribes had amassed an army of 10,000 fighters. After consultation, they decided to build a trench around Medina.

One could say that he was a Prophet (pbuh), so it was easy for him to always be prepared. But the Companions were like that as well. When permission was given to migrate from Makkah to Medina, it was not known whether the Prophet (pbuh) would migrate or not, when he would and who he would take with him. When the Prophet (pbuh) was given permission from Allah, he told Abu Bakr (ra) that they would migrate and if Abu Bakr (ra) would come with him. As it turned out, Abu Bakr (ra) was already prepared with two strong camels that he fed special food, which was more expensive, for the journey. Abu Bakr (ra) had no way to know that he would accompany the Prophet (pbuh), or when the Prophet (pbuh) would make hijra, but he had everything prepared, just in case. And it was because of this journey that Allah called Abu Bakr (ra) the Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) in the Qur’an, when they took refuge in the cave:

“If you will not aid him, Allah certainly aided him when those who disbelieved expelled him, he being the second of the two, when they were both in the cave, when he said to his companion: Grieve not, surely Allah is with us. So Allah sent down His tranquillity upon him and strengthened him with hosts which you did not see, and made lowest the word of those who disbelieved; and the word of Allah, that is the highest; and Allah is Mighty, Wise”

(Surat At-Tawba, 9:40)

In some situations, we have nothing in our hands to do, so patience and du’a is our only means. In other situations, we can do something, even if it is little- and we know that Allah is Ash-Shakur, who rewards a little with a lot. Sometimes things are written, and all we have to do is prepare for it when it comes, and other times Allah gives you something better than what you had originally wanted.

Strangely enough, something happened to me when I first started writing this, as if Allah is telling me I should take my own advice 😉 On Thursday, I had to go to get my papers attested, which needed my passport and other documents. The day before, I thought, I’ll do it in the morning as I already know where all my things are. However, in the morning, I couldn’t find my passport, and had to leave without it, then discovered it was with my mother, and had to get it sent over, which caused an inconvenience to the whole household. Moral of the story- prepare in advance!

Simple Sunna-greet those you know and those you don’t know 🙂

رجلاً سأل رسول الله : أي الإسلام خير؟ قال:

{وتقر السلام على من عرفت ومن لم تعرف …}.

A man asked the Prophet (pbuh), “which Islam is best?” i.e. best thing in Islam. One of the things that the Prophet (pbuh) mentioned was:

“… and to give the greeting of salaam to those whom you know and those whom you do not know.” (Bukhari)

May Allah allow us to embody the characteristics of the Prophet (pbuh) and be united with him in Jannat al-Firdaws inshAllah!